Information handling system notification presentation based upon user presence detection

ABSTRACT

End user presence and absence states are determined at an information handling system by analyzing infrared time of flight sensor presence detection information and applying it to manage presentation of notifications at the information handling system, such as operating system notifications and hardware notifications. Notifications are queued when a predetermined user absence state is detected and presented when a predetermined user presence state is detected to that an end user has a greater probability of viewing notifications when the display presents visual images before sleeping for an end user absence and after waking from an end user presence.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates in general to the field of informationhandling systems, and more particularly to an information handlingsystem notification presentation based upon user presence detection.

Description of the Related Art

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system generally processes, compiles, stores,and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

Portable information handling systems integrate processing components, adisplay and a power source in a portable housing to support mobileoperations. Portable information handling systems allow end users tocarry a system between meetings, during travel, and between home andoffice locations so that an end user has access to processingcapabilities while mobile. Although portable information handlingsystems offer convenience for mobile operations, two difficulties withmobile operations include security and battery life. Security presents aunique problem in that a stolen or lost system left in an openoperational state can expose end user personal information to access byunauthorized users. To counter this security threat, portableinformation handling systems typically enter a locked or secure statewhen not actively used, such as after a predetermined amount of idletime. Once a portable information handling system has a securitytimeout, the end user typically must enter a password to access thesystem again. Unfortunately, to avoid the hassle of frequently enteringa security code end users tend to set significant security timeoutvalues so that an information handling system may run idle andaccessible for many minutes before the display sleeps. In addition topresenting a security weakness, large inactivity timers also contributeto power use and battery charge wear down as the display tends to be oneof the system's greatest power consumers.

A recent innovation to enhance information handling system security andbattery life is the inclusion of user presence detection (UPD) sensorsin the information handling system and peripheral devices, such asperipheral keyboards and displays. In particular, infrared time offlight sensors provide rapid user presence detection capability.Infrared time of flight sensors scan infrared energy in a pattern at anexpected end user location and measure reflections to detect objects.Rapid scans and high accuracy allow detection of movement typicallyassociated with animate objects, such as an end user. Rapid end userpresence and absence detection allow rapid response time for sleeping adisplay when an end user leaves and waking the display when the end userreturns, thus enhancing system security and battery life while offeringthe end user with an “always ready” impression.

One difficulty with infrared time of flight sensors is that the rapidpresence and absence detection can result in false readings that sleep adisplay while the end user is near to or even using the system. Anotherdifficulty is that failure to rapidly wake a display from sleep canirritate a user who can become confused as the display sometimes wakesand sometimes must be awoken. Yet premature activation of a displayresults in unnecessary power consumption and potential security risks.In addition, if a display remains on when an end user is not present,important notifications may be presented at the display that the enduser will not see, such as software notifications generated by theoperating system and applications and hardware notifications generatedby hardware, like a low battery state. One solution to the sensitivityof infrared time of flight sensors is to monitor a presence and absencestate transition for a time delay to increase the confidence orprobability that the change in state corresponds to an end user presenceor absence. The greater the delay in taking action at the informationhandling system in response to a user presence and absence change ofstate, the greater the security risk to the information handling systemand the greater the impact on battery charge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, a need has arisen for a system and method which adapts enduser presence detection based upon operating conditions.

A further need exists for a system and method that applies end userpresence detection information from sensors integrated in peripheraldevices.

A further need exists for a system and method that manages presentationof notifications based upon end user presence and absence states.

In accordance with the present invention, a system and method areprovided which substantially reduce the disadvantages and problemsassociated with previous methods and systems for managing informationhandling system end user interactions based upon user presence statesand user absence states sensed with a user presence detection sensor,such as an infrared time of flight sensor. User presence detectionconfiguration parameters are adapted based upon operating conditions toenhance confidence that user presence and absence state transitions areaccurate. The user presence detection may include plural sensors, suchas infrared time of flight sensors integrated in peripheral devices thatcoordinate configuration and communication of presence detectioninformation through a processor integrated sensor hub and/or an embeddedcontroller that manages peripheral interactions, such as a keyboardcontroller. Information handling system activities, such as presentationof notifications, are adjusted based upon the user presence and absencestate transitions.

More specifically, an information handling system processes informationwith processing components disposed in a housing, such as a processorthat executes instructions stored in memory. The information handlingsystem interfaces with peripheral devices that interact with an enduser, such as a keyboard that accepts keyed inputs and a display thatpresents information as visual images. The information handling systemand peripherals integrate user presence detection sensors, such asinfrared time of flight sensors, that detect end user presence andabsence states to adjust information handling system operations, such assleeping a display when a user is absent and waking the display when theuser is present. In one example embodiment, software and hardwarenotifications are queued during user absence states independent ofdisplay wake or sleep state so that an end user will have thenotifications presented when the end user is present and prepared toview the notifications. When peripheral devices include user presencedetection sensors, an embedded controller that interfaces with theperipheral devices also aggregates communications with the user presencedetection sensors to coordinate determination of end user presence andabsence states. Configuration policies are stored for plural differenttypes of parameters that define operating conditions associated with theuser presence detection sensors. The configuration policies aremonitored and adapted over time as user presence and absence statetransitions are validated and invalidated based on end userinteractions, such as inputs at input devices.

The present invention provides a number of important technicaladvantages. One example of an important technical advantage is that anend user has an improved experience of an “always ready” system thatwakes when the end user approaches and sleeps when the end user leaves.Infrared time of flight sensor end user presence and absence statetransitions have improved confidence by relying upon multiple sensorsthat cooperate with each other, such as with coordination of relativepositions that vary relative to an end user. Higher confidence of userpresence detection sensors is provided with adaptive machine learningbased upon validation or invalidation of user presence and absence statetransitions. Based upon improved user presence detection, informationhandling system activities, such as presenting notifications at adisplay, are modified to adapt to end user interactions with the enduser experiencing an information handling system that meets the enduser's needs in a timely manner. Improved confidence in an infrared timeof flight sensor user presence and absence state transition allows morerapid response time to the state transitions so that delays in sleepingand waking a display or information handling system are reduced withoutincreasing false positive and false negative responses that irritateand/or confuse an end user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerousobjects, features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in theart by referencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the samereference number throughout the several figures designates a like orsimilar element.

FIG. 1 depicts an information handling system that interacts with pluralperipherals having infrared time of flight sensors to adaptivelydetermine end user presence and absence states;

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an information handling systeminterfaced with a peripheral display through a docking station toenhance user presence and absence detection with plural infrared time offlight sensors;

FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram of a process for interfacing an infraredtime of flight sensor integrated in a peripheral display with aninformation handling system through wireless communication;

FIG. 4 depicts a flow diagram of a process for interfacing an infraredtime of flight sensor integrated in a peripheral display with aninformation handling system through a cable interface;

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of an information handling systemconfigured to adapt infrared time of flight sensor detection in realtime to adjust information handling system interactions, such aspresentation of notifications;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a false determination configurationpolicy that results from machine learning reinforcement;

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram of a process for adapting user presencedetection configuration policies based upon user presence statetransitions and validations; and

FIG. 8 depicts a flow diagram of a process for queuing and presentingoperating system and hardware notifications to an end user based uponuser presence and absence state transitions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Infrared time of flight sensor presence detection information managesinformation handling system operating conditions, such as waking andsleeping information presentation, with real time adaption of userpresence and absence states. For purposes of this disclosure, aninformation handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregateof instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit,receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect,record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information,intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or otherpurposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personalcomputer, a network storage device, or any other suitable device and mayvary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. Theinformation handling system may include random access memory (RAM), oneor more processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) orhardware or software control logic, ROM, and/or other types ofnonvolatile memory. Additional components of the information handlingsystem may include one or more disk drives, one or more network portsfor communicating with external devices as well as various input andoutput (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display.The information handling system may also include one or more busesoperable to transmit communications between the various hardwarecomponents.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an information handling system 10 interactswith plural peripherals having infrared time of flight sensors 18 toadaptively determine end user presence and absence states. In theexample embodiment, information handling system 10 has a portableconvertible configuration with processing components disposed in housing12 having first and second rotationally coupled portions. A base housingportion rests on a support surface and integrates a keyboard 14 thataccepts inputs from an end user. A lid housing portion is rotated to anopen and raised position to expose a display 16 integrated in housing 12for presentation of visual images. In addition to integrated display 16,a peripheral display 20 interfaces with information handling system 10through a display cable 22 to present information as visual images. Aperipheral keyboard 24 interfaces with information handling system 10through a wireless interface, such as Bluetooth, to accept keyed inputs.The example embodiment depicts a portable information handling system 10with a peripheral keyboard 24 and peripheral display 20, howeveralternative embodiments may include other peripherals, such as an activestylus to write inputs to a touchscreen display surface or a dockingstation to coordinate power transfer and peripheral interactions forinformation handling system 10. In other alternative embodiments,information handling system 10 may have alternative configurations, suchas a desktop, tablet or all-in-one configuration.

In the example embodiment, an infrared time of flight sensor, also knownas a user presence detection (UPD) sensor, integrates in each ofinformation handling system 10, peripheral display 20 and peripheralkeyboard 24 to sense end user presence and absence. Generally, infraredtime of flight sensor 18 emits infrared illumination in a scan patternand detects reflections from objects to determine a distance to theobjects. By comparing changes in distance to detected objects over time,the infrared time of flight sensor allows an analysis of whether adetected object is animate, such as an end user, or inanimate, such asfixture near information handling system 10. Infrared time of flightsensors provide timely and sensitive user detection that supports rapidtransition of the information handling system from an active state withvisual images presented and input devices accepting inputs to a sleepstate with the display inactive and input devices password protected.Although infrared time of flight sensors 18 provide a rapid end userpresence and absence detection, in some instances the detectionimplements with too great of a sensitivity so that a false positive enduser absence detection results in a display removing visual images. Theinventors hereof have addressed these difficulties with improvementsdescribed by the following patent applications, which are incorporatedherein as though fully set forth:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/419,779, filed May 22, 2019,entitled Augmented Information Handling System User Presence Detection,by inventors Daniel L. Hamlin, et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/599,226, filed Oct. 11, 2019,entitled Information Handling System Infrared Proximity Detection withFrequency Domain Modulation, by inventors Daniel L. Hamlin and VivekViswanathan Iyer.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/599,224, filed Oct. 11, 2019,entitled Information Handling System Infrared Proximity Detection withAmbient Light Management, by inventors Daniel L. Hamlin and VivekViswanathan Iyer.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/599,222, filed Oct. 11, 2019,entitled Information Handling System Infrared Proximity Detection withDistance Reduction Detection, by inventors Daniel L. Hamlin, et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/599,220, filed Oct. 11, 2019,entitled Information Handling System Proximity Sensor with MechanicallyAdjusted Field of View, by inventors Daniel L. Hamlin et al.

In the example embodiment, peripheral devices with integrated infraredtime of flight sensors 18 enhance end user presence and absencedetection in a variety of ways. In some instances, peripheral deviceinfrared time of flight sensors 18 operate as “smart” sensors thatself-determine end user absence and presence to apply at the peripheral,such as to control a display output based upon user presence and absencedetected at the display. In other instances, or in addition to “smart”determinations, peripheral device infrared time of flight sensors detectraw data, such as distances in scan areas, that is forwarded toinformation handling system 10 to allow a user presence and absencedetermination. In either implementation, by interfacing available sensedconditions at a peripheral device infrared time of flight sensor with aninformation handling system 10, greater certainty becomes possible withrespect to user presence and absence state determinations. As oneexample, a peripheral infrared time of flight sensor 18 typicallyremains in a fixed position relative to an end user during end userpresence while information handling system 10 may vary the orientationof its integrated infrared time of flight sensor substantially basedupon the housing rotational orientation. For instance, an excessiverotational angle of housing 12 may direct the integrated infrared timeof flight sensor off-axis from an expected end user position while anend user viewing a peripheral display 20 remains squarely within theperipheral display's infrared time of flight sensor 18 scan. As anotherexample, in a docked configuration coupled to a docking station,information handling system 10 may have the housing 12 in a closedposition so that its infrared time of flight sensor 18 is covered up. Insuch an instance, the availability of one or more peripherals withintegrated infrared time of flight sensors 18 enhance the context ofinformation handling system 10 to provide more reliable transitionsbetween end user presence and absence states.

As is described in greater depth below, changes in operating conditionsdetected at information handling system 10 result in real time adaptionof user presence and absence configuration parameters. For instance, acomparison of sensed information from plural infrared time of flightsensors enhances the certainty with which a particular end user presenceand absence determination may be applied. In one example embodiment,distance information detected by each of plural time of flight sensors18 is communicated to a shared location, such as information handlingsystem 10, so that each infrared time of flight sensor's relativeposition to an end user may be estimated, thus allowing resolution ofthe relative positions of the infrared time of flight sensors to eachother, such as with triangulation. Once the relative positions of theinfrared time of flight sensors 18 are known, a comparison of eachinfrared time of sensor 18 sensed data helps to identify activity andvelocity of the end user to clarify the end user's intent relating tousage of information handling system 10. Based upon probabilities of anend user presence and absence state as determined by one or moreinfrared time of flight sensors and validation of the end user presenceand absence state by subsequent end user interactions, configurationparameters may be updated for a detected context, such as physicallocation, time of day, environmental condition, etc. . . . . Withenhanced probability accuracy relating to end user presence and absencestate determinations, actions and activities at the information handlingsystem may be adapted for a detected context, such as by managingnotification presentations at an information handling systemindependently of presentation of visual images at a display.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram depicts an information handlingsystem 10 interfaced with a peripheral display 20 through a dockingstation 30 to enhance user presence and absence detection with pluralinfrared time of flight sensors 18. In the example embodiment, aninfrared time of flight sensor integrates in information handling system10, docking station 30 and peripheral display 20 to illustratealternative types of communication interfaces for presence detectioninformation. Information handling system 10 processes information with acentral processing unit (CPU) 26 that executes instructions stored inmemory, such as random access memory 32. For instance, an operatingsystem 34, such as WINDOWS, supports execution of applications 37, suchas web browsing, e-mail, word processing, etc. . . . . Operating system34 and applications 37 interact with an end user through inputs made atinput devices, such as peripheral keyboard 24, and present informationas visual images at display 20. Generally, infrared time of flightsensors 18 detect end user presence and absence to secure access toinformation when an end user is not present, such by sleepingpresentation of visual images at display 20 and password locking inputsthrough peripheral keyboard 24. In the example embodiment, operatingsystem 34 interfaces with CPU 26 to manage end user presence and absencewith a Host Embedded Controller Interface 36, operating system sensorclass drivers 38 and a context SDK 40 that analyzes infrared time offlight sensor 18 and other sensor information to apply user presence anduser absence states based upon analysis of context at informationhandling system 10.

In the example embodiment, CPU 26 includes an integrated sensor hub(ISH) 42, such as that defined by INTEL, to interface with sensors, suchas the infrared time of flight sensor, accelerometers, ambient lightsensors, etc. . . . . For instance, ISH 42 has an infrared time offlight physical uDriver 44 that interacts with infrared time of flightsensor 18 and accelerometer physical uDrivers 46 that interact withaccelerometers 48. Processing resources within ISH 42 execute an HoDdriver 50 to manage infrared time of flight sensor 18 and a biometricpresence uDriver 52 provides rapid embedded code processing of sensorinputs to generate user presence detection information applied bycontext SDK 40 with communication coordinated through an operatingsystem endpoint 54. In addition, ISH 42 interfaces through an embeddedcontroller physical uDriver 56 with embedded controller 28 that executesfirmware embedded code stored in integrated flash memory. Embeddedcontroller 28 interfaces to ISH 42 through an EC-to-ISH interface 58 andwith operating system 34 through an operating system interface 60.Embedded controller 28 manages interactions of information handlingsystem 10 with physical devices, such as I/O devices, power, cooling,and other physical functionalities. In the example embodiment, embeddedcontroller 28 has a dock interface 62 to support power andcommunications with docking station 30 and a WNIC interface 64 tosupport communications with a wireless network interface card (WNIC) 66.As is generally evident from the block diagram, wired and wirelesscommunications are supported between information handling system 10,docking station 30, display 20 and peripheral keyboard 24 through anoperating system driver stack 68. Leveraging wired and wirelessinterfaces to communicate infrared time of flight sensor 18 presencedetection information between information handling system 10 andperipherals allows operating system 34 to react with user presence andabsence state determinations with enhanced probability of avoiding falsepositive and false negative determinations.

In one example embodiment, presence detection information generated atan infrared time of flight sensor 18 integrated in peripheral keyboard24 is managed by a keyboard processor microcontroller unit (MCU) 70,such as a microcontroller unit, and communicated with wireless signalsthrough a WNIC 66, such as Bluetooth. Embedded controller 28 serves asthe peripheral keyboard 24 data consumer/listener in a conventionalmanner, such as by providing keyed inputs sent through wireless signalsto the operating system. In addition to conventional keyed inputs,peripheral keyboard 24 communicates presence detection information ofinfrared time of flight sensor 18 through wireless signals. Forinstance, the presence detection information may include infrared timeof flight sensor 18 raw distance information for detected objects,“smart” user presence and absence determinations made locally atperipheral keyboard 24, sensor settings like IR frequency, IRsensitivity and ambient light conditions, and other operating conditionsof infrared time of flight sensor 18. ISH subscribes to the presencedetection information through EC physical uDriver 56 so that thepresence detection information of peripheral keyboard 24 is fed tobiometric presence uDriver 52 for determinations of a user presence orabsence state, similar to the presence detection information of infraredtime of flight sensor 18 integrated in information handling system 10.In an alternative embodiment, peripheral keyboard 24 might interfacethrough a wired cable, such as a USB cable, with a similar subscriptionof presence detection information provided through the cabled interfaceto ISH 42.

In the example embodiment, display 20 includes an infrared time offlight sensor 18 that may provide presence detection information througha wireless interface similar to that of peripheral keyboard 24 orthrough a wired interface supported by docking station 30. In anembodiment with proximity evaluation logic 72, display 20 appliespresence detection information of infrared time of flight sensor 18 todetermine a user presence and absence state and reports thedetermination through display cable 22 and display interfaces 74 todocking station 30, which in turns provides the user presence andabsence states through an embedded controller interface 76 to embeddedcontroller 28. Embedded controller 28 serves as an aggregator of userpresence and absence state determinations from peripheral devices andprovides the user presence and absence states to operating system 34either through ISH 42 or operating system interface 60. As analternative, raw presence detection information, such as detecteddistances and infrared time of flight operational configurations andconditions, may be communicated to embedded controller 28 for use by ISH42 with a subscription as described above. Advantageously, embeddedcontroller 28 provides support for operating system 34 to handleinfrared time of flight sensor 18 presence detection information fromperipheral devices as if the infrared time of flight sensor 18 wereintegrated locally within information handling system 10 or as aseparate device with a binary presence and absence state output.Embedded controller 28 interrogates and receives notifications,evaluates presence detection determinations including through ISH 42 ifnecessary, and then provides context to operating system 34 through anoperating system listening service, such as Windows Management Interface(WMI), HECI or ISH virtual microdrivers that subscribe to embeddedcontroller 28 through I2C or other interfaces. Embedded controller 28and ISH 42 cooperate to provide user presence detection with peripheraldevices in a scalable and flexible platform software architecture tosupport plural infrared time of flight sensors for more accurate andprobabilistic user presence and absence determinations.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram depicts a process forinterfacing an infrared time of flight sensor integrated in a peripheraldisplay with an information handling system through wirelesscommunication. The process starts at step 80 with a connection at theperipheral display 20 by wireless communication service, such asBluetooth to the information handling system. At step 98, theinformation handling system operating system 34 advertises Bluetooth tothe requested listener at the display. Once the wireless interface isestablished, the process continues to step 86 for the embeddedcontroller to request notifications from the operating system related tothe wireless interfaces, such as notifications of presence detectioninformation. At display 20, the infrared time of flight sensor enters adetection loop at step 82 to determine if a user is present. Once a useris present, the process continues to step 84 to send the user presentnotification to the operating system with a wireless signalcommunication. In various embodiments, the communication at step 84 mayinclude a variety of types of information, such as distances, raw sensorreadings, user absent determinations and configuration settings.

Once the user presence is detected at step 84, the process continues tostep 100 for operating system 34 to collect the user presence status atstep 100. At step 102, the operating system 34 reports the user presencestatus to embedded controller 28, which collects the presence detectioninformation at step 88. In response to collection of presence detectioninformation at step 88, embedded controller 28 continues to step 90 toprepare the presence detection information for communication to ISH 42.For instance, embedded controller 28 may present the presence detectioninformation as a virtual infrared time of flight sensor that mimics aphysical time of flight sensor interaction with ISH 42. At step 92,embedded controller 28 sends the presence detection information to ISH42, which receives the presence detection information at step 94 andapplies the information at step 96. In one example embodiment, embeddedcontroller 28 presents a virtual infrared time of flight device to ISH42 so that ISH 42 may exercise control over the infrared time of flightsensor in display 20 as if it were a locally integrated sensor directlyinterfaced with ISH 42. For instance, ISH 42 may control configurationsettings and retrieve raw sensor data and calibration information tofully leverage the infrared time of flight sensor.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram depicts a process forinterfacing an infrared time of flight sensor integrated in a peripheraldisplay with an information handling system through a cable interface.The process starts at display 20 and step 104 with power up of theinfrared time of flight sensor. At step 106, a loop monitors for enduser presence and, when detected continues to step 108 to validate theend user presence with internal information, such as indications of userpresence by touch or key inputs. At step 110, a determination is made ofwhether the user's presence is validated. In one embodiment, suchvalidation may involve a comparison with other indicia of presence toconclude a minimal probability of a correct user presence determination.If the user presence is not validated, the process continues to step 112to reset the infrared time of flight sensor and return to monitor foruser presence at step 106. Once end user presence is validated at step110, the process continues to step 114 to collect the user presenceinformation and step 116 to prepare the presence detection informationfor communication to ISH 42. At step 118 the presence detectioninformation is communicated to ISH 42, which at step 120 gets theproximity sensor information and at step 122 processes the information.As described above with response to the Bluetooth communication, ISH 42may support interactions with infrared time of flight sensors inperipheral devices as if integrated in the information handling systemand directly interfaced with ISH 42.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a block diagram depicts an information handlingsystem configured to adapt infrared time of flight sensor detection inreal time to adjust information handling system interactions, such aspresentation of notifications. One goal of the use of infrared time offlight sensors to monitor end user presence and absence is that therapid response time for detection of presence and absence provides an“always ready” experience for an end user. To enhance this experience,infrared time of flight sensors are adaptively configured to changingconditions so that false positive determinations of user presence anduser absence do not disrupt end user interactions with untimely displaysleeps or jeopardize end user security with inadvertent end useraccesses. A number of different techniques may be applied to infraredtime of flight sensor presence detection information to avoid falsepositive actions. For example, a timeout of varied lengths may be usedbefore taking an action in response to a change between user present anduser absence states. As another example, a probability of a falsedetection may be tracked based upon operating conditions, such as thenumber of infrared time of flight sensors, their correlation in sensedinformation, and operating conditions associated with accuracy of eachsensor, such as ambient light conditions. In various embodiments,different actions may be performed at different probabilities of theaccuracy of user presence and user absence states. For instance,notifications may be halted at a lower probability of a user absencestate accuracy while the screen remains awake. In this way, the user isnot disrupted by a screen sleep while notification information iswithheld until a higher probability exists that the end user is present.To achieve accurate indications of end user presence and absence statesand to track a probability that end user presence and absence states areaccurate, conditions at the information handling system and anyperipherals are analyzed to adjust the configuration of infrared time offlight sensors. Over time, infrared time of flight sensor user presenceand absence determinations are analyzed to model accuracy in differentconditions, such as different physical locations, differentenvironmental conditions, different numbers of end users, differenttypes of peripherals, etc. . . . . These models are saved asconfiguration parameters in association with the conditions in which theconfiguration parameters are developed and loaded at the informationhandling system in response to detection of similar conditions.

In the block diagram, embedded controller 28 and ISH 42 coordinate toexecute a variety of software elements, including a BIOS 124. Anoperating system adaption service 150 executes over operating system 34as part of an optimizer 152 core service that manages an end userexperience. An operating system stack 126 supports execution of theoptimizer 152 core service with operating system native components 136,optimizer layer 134, independent software vendor layer 132, standardmanagement console layer 130 and adaption modules 128. Within theoptimizer 152 core service, a variety of plugin modules 154 supportdifferent functions. As an example, Waves, Bradbury and Bridge pluginsprovide support for software feature components 140 that sit within thesoftware framework to provide customized functions, such as audio,management and communication functions. Storage is provided with a datavault 144 that manages a database 142 through a data vault plugin.Operating system command interactions are communicated between a WindowsManagement Interface (WMI) 138, an optimize WMI provider 146 and acommand router within optimizer 152 core service. External interactionsthrough network communications are supported from a variety of networklocations 158 with graphics defined by a GUI application store 156. Inthe example embodiment, a telemetry plugin of optimizer 152 core servicesupports an interface with a telemetry network location 160 and amachine learning plugin supports an interface with a machine learningnetwork location 162. An alert service 148 interfaces with asettings/rules plugin of optimizer 152 core service and managespresentation of notifications at information handling system 10, asdescribed in greater depth below. An adaption service 150 interfacesthrough a machine learning (ML) plugin to manage configurationparameters of infrared time of flight sensors and of reactions to enduser presence and absence states as described in greater detail below.

Optimizer 152 core service interfaces adaption service 150 with machinelearning network location 162, such as virtual machine server located incloud, to model user presence detection off line and provide real timeconfiguration parameter inferences and reinforcement. A falsedetermination configuration policy is pushed by optimizer 152 coreservice based upon historical user presence and absence statedeterminations modeled for accuracy locally and remotely. Adaptionservice 150 adaptively changes user presence detection parameters andfalse determination logic based upon this historical context and machinelearning. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a false determinationconfiguration policy that results from machine learning reinforcement.In the example embodiment, a plurality of use cases are defined basedupon different physical locations, such as at the user's office cube, apublic café, a home office, etc. . . . . Parameters considered in eachpolicy may include color at each location, available peripheral devices,the number of infrared time of flight sensors available, portablehousing rotational orientation, accelerations, and other factors. Modelparameters may include historical user presence and absence detection,wait times enforced after a change between presence and absence states,validation and invalidation of a user presence state transition,environmental conditions, a number of infrared time of flight sensorsavailable, an expected probability associated with each determined userpresence and absence state, etc. . . . . In various embodiments, varioustypes of parameters may be detected and applied to configure end userpresence detection.

As an example, adaption service 150 manages user detection parameters bystoring a configuration parameter model in database 142 and loading theconfiguration parameter model to the application performance plugin todetermine optimal user presence detection parameters. Once the optimaluser presence detection parameters are determined, adaption service 150interfaces with firmware of ISH 42 to push the optimal user presencedetection parameters to available infrared time of flight sensors, suchas those integrated in the information handling system and in peripheraldevices. Optimizer core service 152 loads the configuration policy toadaption service 150. As user presence and absence states are determinedwith the configuration policy, a user presence detection plugin ofoptimizer 152 core service determines false user presence statetransitions, such as based upon end user reactions to actions performedat information handling system 10, like waking a system as it sleeps ordetecting end user activity after a user absence determination andbefore the system sleeps. False user presence state transitions arelogged with associated sensed parameters to local analysis to adjust theconfiguration policies and to pass to machine learning network location162 for more in depth analysis.

Alert service 148 manages notifications presented to an end user duringuser presence, such as operating system notifications that includeapplication information (emails, social media posts, etc. . . . ) andalso hardware notifications generated by BIOS 124 and/or embeddedcontroller 28, like battery charge states for the information handlingsystem and peripherals, such as keyboard and stylus battery charge. Forinstance, alert service 148 queues notifications in the event that apredetermined probability exists based upon user presence detectionparameters that an end user is absent, even if the display remains awakebecause the probability of end user absence is not high enough to sleepthe display. Similarly, if alert service 148 maintains notifications inqueue after a user presence state wakes the display for the sleep stateuntil a sufficient probability is established that the end user ispresent. The confidence in a user presence or absence state may bedetermined from the configuration policy and the sensed environment. Inone example embodiment, confidence in a user state transition may bedetermined from validations and invalidations of the user statetransitions over time, such as based upon end user responses toinformation handling system actions performed based upon user presencestate transitions. In one embodiment, as notifications are queued, thenotifications are filtered for relevance, such as removing timesensitive notifications that lose relevance after passage of time, andare prioritized to aid in presentation of more relevant notificationswhen the end user presence is confirmed and attention to presentedinformation is highest. For instance, a low battery state notificationfor the information handling system, keyboard or stylus might have ahighest priority to prevent failure due to power loss. Othernotifications may be prioritized based on end user interactions withnotifications over time.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flow diagram depicts a process for adaptinguser presence detection configuration policies based upon user presencestate transitions and validations. The process starts with optimizer 152managing user presence detection configuration policies through amachine learning plugin and user presence detection plugin. At step 164,a machine learning policy for user presence detection is loaded from themachine learning plugin 154 to the operating system service 150 wherethe machine learning inference is executed to determine optimal userpresence detection policy configuration parameters at step 166. Once theoptimal user presence detection parameters are determined, the processcontinues at step 168 to push the user presence detection policyconfiguration parameters to the ISH firmware service 128. At step 170,the configuration parameters are written to the infrared time of flightsensor or sensors. As infrared time of flight sensor user presence andabsence state transitions are detected, false determinations of userpresence or absence states are determined at step 176 according to theconfiguration policy communicated at step 172 and loaded at step 174 atthe adaptation service 150. At step 178 logical user presence detectiondeterminations are made at optimizer 152 core service with applicationof the configuration policies, such as may be shown by inputs made atinput devices that indicate a false user absence determination or anexcessively delayed transition to a wake state at a user presencedetermination. As user presence and absence state transitions arevalidated and/or invalidated, a log is maintained so that at step 180machine learning reinforcement of configuration policies may be applied.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a flow diagram depicts a process for queuingand presenting operating system and hardware notifications to an enduser based upon user presence and absence state transitions. The processstarts at step 184 with monitoring at step 186 with the optimizer coreservice through a plugin of notifications generated by hardware andsoftware. Once a notification is detected, the process continues to step188 to determine if the end user is present. If the user is not present,the process continues to step 196 to add the notification to the queue.If the user is present, the process continues to step 190 to determinewhether the notification should be presented immediately or queued forsubsequent presentation. At step 190 a determination is made of whetherthe user is in an active work flow, in which case the notification mightdetract from attention to other tasks. If the user is in the flow, adetermination is made at step 194 of whether the notification is apriority notification, such as a hardware notification of low batterycharge or priority notifications configured by the end user. If thenotification is not a priority, and the user is in the flow, the processcontinues to step 196 to add the notification to the queue. If at step190 the user is not in the flow or at step 194 the notification is apriority, the process continues to step 192 to present the notificationand returns to step 186.

At step 196 a queue of notifications is stored and maintained accessibleby the optimizer. The optimizer starts at step 198 upon entry to an enduser absent state and monitors at step 200 to detect a return of the enduser with a transition to a user presence state. Once user presence isdetected, the notification queue is checked to determine if it ispopulated based upon a smart alert configuration policy. For instance,notifications may be delayed for a short time after the user presencestate to validate the user presence or to allow other end userpriorities to be performed before initiating presentation of queuednotifications. At step 202 the queued notifications are retrieved and atstep 206 the queued notifications are presented with a filter appliedbased upon the configuration policy 204, such as with a predefinedpriority of with lower priority or irrelevant notifications removed. Theprocess ends at step 208.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, it shouldbe understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can bemade hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information handling system comprising: ahousing; a processor disposed in the housing and operable to executeinstructions that process information; a memory disposed in the housingand interfaced with the processor, the memory operable to store theinstructions and information; a graphics processor disposed in thehousing and interfaced with the processor, the graphics processoroperable to process the information to defined visual images forpresentation at a display; a display integrated in the housing andinterfaced with the graphics processor, the display operable to presentthe visual image; an embedded controller disposed in the housing andinterfaced with the processor, the embedded controller operable tocoordinate communications of input devices to the processor; an infraredtime of flight sensor integrated in the housing and interfaced with theprocessor, the infrared time of flight sensor operable to detect enduser presence detection information; and a notification module stored innon-transient memory and operable when executed on the processor toapply the end user presence detection information to selectively queuenotifications generated for presentation to an end user, to withholdqueue notifications from presentation at the display, and to selectivelypresent the notifications at the display based upon user presencedetection information, the notification module withholding notificationsfrom presentation at the display when the display presents visual imagesthat include content of the end user and the user presence informationindicates the user is absent.
 2. The information handling system ofclaim 1 wherein the notification module selectively queues notificationsindependent of whether the display presents visual images or sleeps. 3.The information handling system of claim 2 wherein the notificationmodule selectively queues notifications based upon the infrared time offlight sensor indicating a first probability of a user absence state andthe display sleeps based upon a second probability of a user absencestate, second probability greater than the first probability.
 4. Theinformation handling system of claim 3 wherein the notification moduleselectively presents queued notifications based upon the infrared timeof flight sensor indicating first probability of a user presence stateand the display wakes from sleep based upon a second probability of auser presence state, the first probability greater than the secondprobability.
 5. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein thenotifications comprise: hardware notifications tracked by the embeddedcontroller; and software notifications tracked by an operating systemexecuting on the processor.
 6. The information handling system of claim5 wherein the hardware notifications comprise a battery charge state ofa peripheral device interfaced with the information handling system. 7.The information handling system of claim 6 wherein the peripheral devicecomprises an active stylus configured to make touch inputs at thedisplay.
 8. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein thenotification module is further operable to present the queuednotifications with a predetermined priority.
 9. The information handlingsystem of claim 8 further comprising an adaption module stored in thenon-transient memory and operable when executed on the processor tomonitor end user interactions with the notifications to define thepredetermined priority.
 10. A method for presenting notifications at aninformation handling system display, the method comprising: monitoringan infrared time of flight sensor to determine end user presence and enduser absence at the information handling system; and in response todetecting a first predetermined end user absence state, queuingnotifications generated at the information handling system withoutpresentation of the notifications at the display when the displaypresents content of the end user; in response to detecting a secondpredetermined end user absence state, sleeping presentation of visualimages at the display; in response to detecting a first predeterminedend user presence state, waking the display to present the visual imageswithout presentation of the queued notifications at the display; and inresponse to the detecting a second predetermined end user presencestate, presenting the queued notifications at the display.
 11. Themethod of claim 10 wherein: the first predetermined user absence statehas a lower probability of a user absence than the second predetermineduser absence state; and the first predetermined user presence state hasa lower probability of a user presence than the second predetermineduser presence state.
 12. The method of claim 10 further comprising:prioritizing the queued notifications according to a predeterminedpriority; and in response to detecting the second predetermined end userpresence state, presenting the notifications according to thepredetermined priority.
 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:monitoring end user interactions with the notifications; and analyzingthe end user interactions to adjust the predetermined priority.
 14. Themethod of claim 10 wherein the notifications comprise hardwarenotifications and software notifications.
 15. The method of claim 13wherein the hardware notifications comprise a peripheral device batterystate.
 16. The method of claim 10 wherein the first and secondpredetermined end user absence states vary based upon a number ofinfrared time of flight sensors monitoring end user presence andabsence.
 17. The method of claim 16 further comprising: monitoring enduser presence and absence with a first infrared time of flight sensorintegrated in the information handling system; and monitoring end userpresence and absence with a second infrared time of flight sensorintegrated in a peripheral device interfaced with the informationhandling system.
 18. A system for presenting notifications at aninformation handling system display, the system comprising: an infraredtime of flight sensor integrated in the information handling system; andnon-transitory memory integrated in the information handling system andstoring instructions that when executed on a processor: monitor theinfrared time of flight sensor to determine end user presence and enduser absence; in response to a first end user absence state, queuingnotifications generated at the information handling system while thedisplay presents visual images that includes content of the end user andwithholds presentation of queued notifications; and in response to asecond end user absence state, sleeping the display from presentingvisual images.
 19. The system of claim 18 wherein the instructions whenexecuted on a processor further: in response to a first end userpresence state, wake the display from sleep to present the visual imagesto include content of the end user and not including queuednotifications; and in response to a second end user presence state,presenting the queued notifications when the display presents visualimages.
 20. The system of claim 19 wherein the instructions whenexecuted on the processor further prioritize presentation ofnotifications related to peripheral device battery charge states.